The invention relates to systems and methods of thermally processing a substrate.
Substrate processing systems are used to fabricate semiconductor logic and memory devices, flat panel displays, CD ROMs, and other devices. During processing, such substrates may be subjected to chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and rapid thermal processes (TP). RTP processes include, for example, rapid thermal annealing (RTA), rapid thermal cleaning (RTC), rapid thermal CVD (RTCVD), rapid thermal oxidation (RTO), and rapid thermal nitridation (RTN). RTP systems usually include a heating element formed from one or more lamps which radiatively heat the substrate through a light-transmissive window; RTP systems may also include one or more other optical elements, such as an optically reflective surface facing the backside of the substrate and one or more optical detectors for measuring the temperature of the substrate during processing. Many rapid thermal processes require precise control of substrate temperature over time.